Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault, and rape. If you or someone you know are affected by the following story, you are not alone. To speak to someone, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters singer Mark Kozelek has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women.
Mark Kozelek, the singer-songwriter from Sun Kil Moon and Red House painters, has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women.
On Thursday, August 13th, Pitchfork reported of occasions between 2014 and 2017 where Kozelek allegedly used guilt as a tool to manipulate three women. The accusations against him include exposing himself without consent, pressuring a fan into non-consensual sex, and forcing a woman to touch his penis.
Of the three women, only one agreed to be identified by her name. Sarah Catherine Golden met Kozelek on a flight from Portugal to Madrid. Kozelek struck up a conversation with her and invited her to the Sun Kil Moon show. During the show, he repeatedly expressed on stage his desire to see her after.
Later that night, Golden was having trouble booking transportation from the venue, which was when Kozelek offered to call her a cab from his hotel. At the hotel, however, Golden was surprised when the band members got off on different floors, leaving her alone with the singer.
Once inside, Golden went out to smoke on the balcony. When Kozelek joined her, however, he was only in a T-shirt and his underwear. After they went back inside, Kozelek asked her to spend the night, which made Golden uncomfortable.
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When she declined, he reportedly forced himself on top of her, tried to kiss her, and at one point, moved her hand to come into contact with his penis. According to Golden’s account, Kozelek gave her “a guilt trip about how I was afraid of him because he’s old, and I’m just like everyone else, because I think he’s too old, he can’t be attractive,” as reported by Pitchfork.
A female musician, not identified by name, gave a similar account of Kozelek allegedly using guilt as a manipulative tool. Another woman to come forward was identified by the pseudonym Andrea. Then 19, she met Kozelek at a 2014 concert and stayed in touch with him after exchanging numbers.
“She was on the verge of going to college and majoring in film and television, and he had some film background too. So, I think she viewed it as, this was exciting. This was somebody she admired. And she was going into this field where having contacts and those kinds of things was going to be helpful. That she could gain knowledge, things like that,” Andrea’s mother told Pitchfork.
After performing at the 2014 Hopscotch Music Festival, Kozelek allegedly invited her to his hotel room and proceeded to force himself on her. ““I was just really afraid to say no,” Andrea later texted her friend. “He focused on my age a lot…He kept asking me to say how old i (sic) was.”
According to Andrea, Kozelek and her had intercourse several times in Raleigh, followed by a three-month-long long-distance relationship.
In her accounts, Andrea alleges that there were numerous encounters where “the lines [were] really blurred”, including multiple incidents of public intercourse that she felt coerced into. When Kozelek broke it off over email, it came as a relief to her.
Kozelek has yet to make a comment about the accusations.
